Conventional pollution control devices (e.g., catalytic converters, exhaust filters, and the like) are used in the exhaust systems of internal combustion engines such as, for example engines used in various vehicles (e.g., automobiles, watercraft, aircraft, etc.), power generators and the like. Such pollution control devices have typically employed a variety of insulation materials and mounting materials. These materials are typically made using ceramic fibers, intumescent particles or combinations thereof. Such materials have been used in the form of end cone insulators, like that disclosed in PCT Application No. PCT/US97/15864 (Publication No. WO 98/50688), and in the form of mounting mats, like that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,305,992; 4,999,168 and 6,245,301. In addition to the various materials that are used, a number of techniques have been employed to assemble such insulators and mats into pollution control devices.
There is a continuing need for improvements in the ways that pollution control devices are assembled.